All posts tagged ‘New Release’

Starting today, Disney’sWreck-it Ralph is available on home video! In honor of the occasion, I had myself digitized into the 8 bit world. Later today after Fix-it Felix Jr. repairs the building, the other tenants and myself plan to throw Wreck-it Ralph over the side. If you don’t know what I am talking about, then you need to go get this movie.

GeekDad Tony Sims in Fix-it Felix Jr.

Young and old alike will love this movie alike, but I believe it holds a special place in the hearts of other Generation Y folks like myself. We have seen this evolution unfold in front of us. We have seen the arcades go from the Q-Bert and Roadblasters golden days to their current state. I actually just miss having arcades around – not too many these days. Anyway, like I said, Wreck- it Ralph is out now on Blu-ray Combo pack and like a good GeekDad, I picked up an early copy to get a few sneak peeks and keep you informed before you buy.

First off, Ralph includes the (now Academy Award winning) Paperman animated short. It is the same short that played before the movie in the theater, in which it tells the story of a young man in an office who sees the girl of his dreams in a skyscraper window across the street and tries to use paper airplanes to get her attention.

Other special features include:

Bit by Bit: Creating the Worlds of Wreck-It Ralph – Fans of the film will get a look at five new worlds created for Wreck-It Ralph. The short takes viewers into Game Central Station with the artists who brought Sugar Rush, Hero’s Duty and Fix It Felix Jr. to life.

Alternate & Deleted Scenes – Four separate scenes are highlighted with an introduction and optional audio commentary from director Rich Moore. The alternate scenes really show a different way this movie could have gone. It is interesting to see other ideas that were on the “drawing board” but ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor.

Video Game Commercials – Viewers can check out the commercials created for the video games featured in the film – Fix It Felix Jr., Sugar Rush, Hero’s Duty and Fix It Felix Hammer.
Another great feature that is Blu-ray exclusive is the Disney Intermission. When the viewer presses pause on the movie, the Nerdist himself Chris Harwick, pops up and guides viewers through a series of video segments offering an inside look at the many video game references, Disney references and other hidden surprises featured in the film. I featured a few of these hidden gems last week – check them out again below with the answers this time.

That about sums it up. The movie is an instant classic. I have heard it called many times “Toy Story with video games”, so I am not going to review the actual movie in the this article. If you would like a full theatrical review, you can click here. Otherwise go pick it up starting today or you can order online everywhere.

We have posted several preview cards and other news about the trading card game Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters here on GeekDad in the past. Now the entire family can be entertained with the animated tales of an aspiring new Kaijudo duelist in Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters – Creatures Unleashed.

I have seen a few episodes of this with the kids, and I have to say, I liked what I saw. Much less on the cutesy side than, say, Pokemon, but still targeted toward younger kids. I especially liked the central theme of anti-bullying. That is a real hot topic currently and this show addresses it well. This first DVD in the series runs 110 minutes and consists of 5 episodes. The packaging also includes an exclusive alternate art “Kenina” playable trading card.

The DVD hits the store shelves on December 4, 2012 – and thanks to Shout! Factory and Hasbro, we have a few to give away! In fact, one lucky grand prize winner will get a copy of the DVD and an entire box of Kaijudo: Rise of the Duel Masters Booster Packs! Simply fill out the form below (click here if the embedded form doesn’t work for you) to enter before 11:59pm Pacific on Sunday, December 2nd. We’ll pick five winners at random on Monday, and then ship them to the winners on the release date of Tuesday, December 4th.

Disney has pulled Cinderella out of the vault and given her quite the makeover for her to be re-released on Blu-ray, October 2nd! I do not mean this literally, they did not re-make the movie with Taylor Swift as Cinderella or that type of nonsense. I mean, they have done years of work to remaster the original 1950s classic to its original glory. Moreover, they have added enough special features to make this any Disney collector’s new favorite. I was lucky enough to get to visit with the folks at Disney last month and get a glimpse of some of these new features.

On both Diamond Edition versions of the movie, DVD and Blu-ray, you get a feature about the renovations taking place at the Disney Parks; the new short – Tangled Ever-After – and an introduction to the movie by Walt Disney’s daughter, Diane Disney Miller. The Tangled short picks up where the movie left off and takes place during the wedding of Flynn Rider and Rapunzel. It is the same short that was shown in the theaters along with Beauty and the Beast 3D.

With the Blu-ray versions of the Cinderella Diamond Edition, there are considerably more features. You also get a never-before-seen alternate opening sequence, a personalized digital story book and an original story about the real Fairy Godmother – who the Cinderella Fairy Godmother was based on. The two features that I have had a chance to see were the digital story book and the Fairy Godmother story.

The digital story book, named Bibbidi-Bobbidi-You, is more of a second screen experience. When used with the iPad and Blu-ray player together, it puts the viewer into the story. The viewer gets to read along with the story while stopping for “mini-games” periodically to complete a task. This includes cleaning the floors and popping bubbles. Little ones will have plenty of fun with this.

The story of the Real Fairy Godmother is an amazing biography of Mary Alice O’Connor, the wife of one of Disney’s cartoonists. When he created the fictional character of the Fairy Godmother, he envisioned what she would look like when she was much older. As you can see from the photo of her to the side, he was right on the money. This story of how cartoonist A. Kendall O’Connor and Walt Disney really created the whole vision of the animated movie, and the life that Mary Alice O’Connor led, make this version of Cinderella a must-own.

Be sure to pick up your copy of Cinderella Diamond Edition on Tuesday, October 2nd!

… carry you away to Disneyland, that is! To celebrate the release of the new movie Frankenweenie next month, Disney is currently giving away a Halloween vacation to the California park. Titled the Frankenweenie Monstrous Sweepstakes, One Grand Prize winner will receive a 4 day/3 night vacation for four to the Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure Park.

The sweepstakes has already started and will last through October 7, 2012. There are a couple of ways to enter. One way is by clicking here, the other way is by texting EDGAR to DISNEY (347639) to enter for a chance to win. Message and data rates may apply. If you’re under 18, get your parents’ permission first.

Here are the details on the prizes that are up for grabs:

One (1) Grand Prize – A 4 day/3 night vacation for four to Disneyland Resort and Disney California Adventure Park to experience the world of Tim Burton and Frankenweenie during Halloween Time.

Five (5) First Prizes – An Autographed Frankenweenie movie poster.

While you are visiting Disneyland be sure not to miss The Art of Frankenweenie Exhibit only at the newly expanded Disney California Adventure Park. The sets, props, puppets and more from the world of Frankenweenie are all currently on display and for a limited time guests will be treated to a special 4D extended preview of the film at the Muppets Vision 3D Theater!

Frankenweenie arrives in theaters everywhere on October 5th!

(Note: GeekDad and Wired.com are not involved with this contest — we just thought you might like to know!)